Today, people active in religious communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island delivered a letterto President Trump and their members of Congress which shared their support and care for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. Signers included Rev. Dr. Don Anderson, the Executive Minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches and the Reverend Peter M. Cook, Executive Director of the New York State Council of Churches.

The letter says, “we believe it is a moral imperative to continue to properly shelter this underwater modern ‘Noah’s ark’ from potential harm.”

Religious communities appreciate the historic nature of the first marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean.The letter declares that religious leaders appreciate the gifts of God’s creation within the monument, and their role in caring for them: “We are committed to doing our part to ensure their good stewardship.”

The letter calls on President Trump and Congress to “continue to keep these national monument protections in place --- preserving another piece of God’s beautiful creation for generations to come.”

The letter comes as news is breaking about a potential Executive Order the Trump Administration may issue this week, which may call for reconsideration of recently designated national monuments. Religious communities have a long track record of supporting various national monuments, as well as the Antiquities Act of 1906, the law that empowers U.S. Presidents to designate monuments.